“Gilardino is an important player. We spent a lot of money on him, but there is interest from Monaco. If that goes through, then we’ll focus on someone else,” said Preziosi.

“Will German Denis or Adrian Mutu replace him? No, neither of those players will join us. We gave MattiaDestro to Siena on loan with the option to buy half his contract. If we find a deal, he’ll return to us 100 per cent, otherwise Siena will become co-owners.”